Sliding panel



May 15, 1951 H. J. KLEIN SLIDING PANEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 28,1950 Fig.2.

INVENTOR H- J. KLEIN SLIDING PANEL '2;Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28,1950 I o 3 I sliding panel type.

Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE '7 Claims.

This invention relates to sliding panels, particularly sliding doors,and to means for supporting and guiding the same.

In order to save space, provide for improved appearances and decorativepossibilities through the elimination of unsightly door knobs, and forvarious other reasons, constantly increasing use is being made of doorsof the sliding type as compared with hinged-type doors. Such use has upto the present been subject to various objections which have preventedthe attainment of all the advantages inherent in closures of the Thus,previously employed sliding panels have been prone to become disengagedfrom their tracks, or move too sluggishl'y'or completelybind therein. Inmany instances, unsightly openings are left at the vertical andhorizontal edges between panel and frame. All or part of these defectshave been'causedby the fact that in many cases, the frames do not lie ina vertical plane and/or the verticaland-horizonta-l edges of the framesare not respectively parallel and/or trul vertical or level. Further, inmany installations reversal of the Epanel through 180 about its verticalor horizontal axis to minimize the aforementioned defects or to guidemeans for a sliding panel which will automatically compensate for anylack of parallelism between the upper and lower edges of the frametherefor.

Another object is to provide novelguide means for a sliding panel whichmay be so adjusted that the proper compressive force is exerted againstthe upper and lower edges of the frames therefor to promote facility ininstallation and removal andto eliminate possibilities of side sway,rattling and disengagement from insufficient comi pressive force andbinding from excessive force.

A further object is to provide novel adjusting means whereby a slidingpanel may be tilted in its own vertical plane to compensate for any lackof perpendicularity of the side frames against which the vertical-edgesof the panel abut.

A still further object is to provide novel guide means for slidingpanels which may be so installed as to be imperceptible from either sideand at the same time permit ready reversal of structed surface.

2 the panel through about its horizontal or vertical axis.

Otherobjects and advantages will appear from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment 'of the invention illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of two sliding .panels partially cut away toshow the guide means;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view on line 3-4-01 Fig. 2 showing one ofthe inserts and adjusting bolts in elevation;

Fig. 4 is a bottom .plan view of theembodiment shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on.line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is-an enlarged sectional view on line '6'-6 of 5 showing thewheel, yoke and spindle in elevation;

Fig. '7 is anenlarged sectional view on line l--'l of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a partial section showing a modifie form of mounting-forhollow panels;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the -Ushaped bracket of Fig. 8.

"Referring 'now to the drawings, numeral H) indicates sliding panelsinto the top and bottom edges of which my improved guiding means areinserted. The upper guide means, as shown :in

Fig. 5, move in an upper trackway t2 fastenedto the upper support orframe 13, which means are concealed from view by a valance 14 to producea more pleasing appearance. The lower guide meansgasshown in Fig. 2,move in a lower trackway i5 fastened to the bottom support or still 1-6and/or underfloor H and preferably flush with the finished floor It soas .to provide an unob- As shown in Fig. l, the panels Iilabut at theirsides againstside frames I9, although it'is obvious that the panels maybe of the disappearing type without departing from the scope of theinvention.

The lower guide means, as shown in Figs. 2,3 and 4, comprise a channel"shaped member, the upturned flanges?!) of which lie in a recess 2l inthe bottom'edge of the panel deep enough to:per-

-rnit the free movement therein of a wheel or roller '22 rotatablymounted on a rivet, pin or axle 23 passing transversely through the saidflanges. The rim of the wheel passes through an opening 24 in the web 25of said channel shaped member so as'to engage the bottomtrackway.The'channel shaped'member is adjustabiy secured-to the'bottom edge ofthe panel by means straps, welding, or the like.

of bolts 26 passing through openings 21 in web extensions 28 andengaging internally threaded inserts 29 in the bottom edge of the panel.Adjustability of the wheel assembly is obtained by employing a bolt witha fixed collar or circular flange 30 whereby the web extensions 28 floatbetween the bolt head and said collar.

The upper guide means, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '7 is a springbiasedadjustable wheel assembly which comprises a socket, tube, casing orcylinder 3i containing a compression spring 32 fixed at its lower end 33to the socket and at its upper end 34 to a slotted internally threadedsleeve, collar or stop nut 35 whereby said spring exerts force on saidsleeve in an outward axial direction while preventing it from rotatingwhen spindle 31 is threaded therethrough. Said sleeve 35 is slidable inthe socket and is prevented from sliding out therefrom by a cylindricalescutcheon base plate plug 36. is threaded at its lower end to therebyengage the sliding sleeve 35. This spindle is slidable in the plug 36 sothat it is capable of both axial and rotational motion in the socket.The upper end of the spindle is fixed to a yoke or clevis 38 in which ismounted a rivet, pin or axle 39 upon which the wheel or roller irotates. The assembly is recessed in the upper edge of the panel in andfixed thereto by means of the mounting or escutcheon base plate 4|.Where the panel is hollow, the sole use of an escutcheon base plate formounting the assembly is insuflicient, and in such case a U-shapedmember 42 may be inserted in the panel as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. ThisU-shaped member is mounted at a proper dis- I tance below the top edgeof the panel and welded or otherwise fastened thereto so that wheninstalled for use, said socket passes through the opening in the upperarm of said U-shaped member and rests upon the lower arm thereof.

It will of course be understood that other means for mounting orrecessing the spring-biased guide assembly at the upper edge of thepanel may be availed of. Thus, in the case of a hollow metal panel,instead of inserting the socket into the top edge of the panel, thesocket may be directly fastened to the inside wall ofthe panel at such adistance below said edge that the upper periphery of the roller is theonly part of the guide assembly that extends above said edge forengaging the upper trackway. This manner of mounting is advantageous inthat said assembly is almost entirely hidden, the panel wall acting asits own valance. In this case, the escutcheon base plate is superfluous,the U-shaped member may be dispensed with, and the socket fastened tothe inside wall of the panel by means of metal A preferred means for soinstalling the spring-biased guide assembly involves the use of mountingflanges at upper and lower ends of the socket or extending the entirelength thereof and in a plane parallel to that of the panel, whereby theflanges may be fastened to the panel by bolting, riveting, welding orthe like. These flanges may be welded or otherwise fastened to thesocket or they may be made integral therewith by bending the socket froma sheet of metal wider than the circumference of the socket and foldingback the excess metal in a plane tangential at the seam running thelength of the socket. Or the excess metal may be so folded as to formflanges in a plane parallel to said tangential plane but spacedtherefrom so that the socket will be mounted further away from theinside wall of the panel.

Said spindle or stud bolt 37 In putting my improved panel and guidemeans into use, no particular preparations are necessary for aligningpanel and frame and similar expensive and time-consuming operations. Theupper spring-biased guide assembly is placed in the upper trackway, andby pressing upwards slightly to compress the springs, the bottom wheelassembly ma be quickly placed in position in the lower trackway. Thepanel will thereafter automatically adjust itself to any lack ofparallelism between the upper and lower trackways. Lack ofperpendicularity of the abutting side frames, with resulting unsightlycracks and openings, may be readily compensated for by simply raising orlowering the wheel assembly under one or the other side of the panelwhereby the panel Will be tilted in its own vertical plane to a positionin which better contact is had with the abutting side frames. Since thespring-biased guide means may be adjusted in length by simply screwingthe spindle into or out of the socket, the compressive force exertedagainst the trackways may be altered at any time to provide a panelwhich will slide quickly, easily and noiselessly. Thus, looseness in thetrackways with resulting rattling, sidesway and disengagement may bereadily eliminated by unscrewing the spindles farther out of the socketswhereby the compressive force against the trackways is increased.Similarly, binding and sluggishness in the trackways caused by tightnessmay be readily eliminated by screwing the spindles farther into thesockets. Because the upper and lower guide means are edge-recessed sothat they cannot be seen from either side, the improved panels of myinvention may be used to partition any space where an equally goodappearance on both sides is necessary. Likewise, where as in closetclosures the outer side becomes dirty and damaged through use, the panelmay be readily taken out and rotated about its vertical or evenhorizontal axis. This rotation may also be desirable or necessary insome cases to mitigate frame and floor construction defects, panelwarping and the like.

While I have shown and described a preferrxl embodiment of my invention,it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the detailsshown, since certain changes and modifications readily apparel; to thoseskilled in the art may be made therein without departing from theessence of my invention. Such changes and modifications are to beregarded as within the purview of this application and the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased adjustablewheel assemblies mounted at one edge of said panel comprising a socketfixedly recessed in said edge of the panel, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member confined and slidable in said socket and mounted on thethreaded portion of said spindle, a compression coil spring whosediameter is substantially the same as that of said sleeve member andattached at one end to said socket and at the other end to said sleevemember, whereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outward axialdirection while preventing it from rotating when said spindle isthreaded therethrough, and a wheel mounted at he free end of the spindleadapted to engage a trackway, a plurality of springless wheel assembliesmounted at the opposite edge of the panel adapted to engage a secondtrackway, and means to raise and lower each of the springless wheelassemblies mounted at said opposite edge whereby the panel may be causedto tilt in a vertical plane.

2. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased adjustableguide means mounted at one edge of said panel comprising a socket memberfixedly recessed in said edge of the panel, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member confined and slidable in said socket member and mounted onthe threaded portion of said spindle, a compression coil spring whosediameter is substantially the same as that of said sleeve member andattached at one end to said socket member and at the other end to saidsleeve member whereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outwardaxial direction while preventing it from rotating when said spindle isthreaded therethrough, and guide means mounted at the free end of saidspindle adapted to engage a trackway, recesses in the opposite edge ofsaid panel, each of said recesses having mounted therein a springlesswheel assembly comprising a channel member having a pin mountedtransversely through the upwardly turned flanges thereof and parallel tothe bottom web thereof, a wheel mounted rotatably on the pin and passingthrough an opening in the web for engaging a second trackway, openingsin each end of the web, and adjustable bolt means passing through saidopenings and engaging said opposite edge of the sliding panel wherebythe wheel assemblies mounted at said opposite edge may be raised andlowered.

3. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased guide meansmounted at one edge of said panel adapted to engage a trackway, recessesin the opposite edge of said panel, each of said recesses having mountedtherein a springless wheel assembly, a channel member having a pinmounted transversely through the upwardly turned flanges thereof andparallel to the bottom web thereof, a wheel mounted rotatably on the pinand passing through an opening in the web for engaging a secondtrackway, openings in each end of the web, and adjustable bolt meanspassing through said openings and engaging said opposite edge of thesliding panel whereby the wheel assemblies mounted at said opposite edgemay be raised and lowered.

4. A spring-biased adjustable guide assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member confined and slidable in said socket member and mounted onthe threaded portion of said spindle, a compression coil spring whosediameter.is substantially the same as that of said sleeve member andattached at one end to said socket member and at the other end to saidsleeve member whereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outwardaxial direction while preventing it from rotating when said spindle isthreaded therethrough, means for fastening said socket member to thepanel, and guide means mounted at the free end of said spindle adaptedto engage a trackway.

5. A spring-biased adjustable wheel assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, an internally threaded sleevemember slidable therein, a compression coil spring whose diameter issubstantially the same as that of said sleeve member and attached at oneend to said socket member and at the other end to said sleeve memberwhereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outward axial direction while preventing it from rotating when the spindle hereinafterset forth is threaded therethrough, a cylindrical plug mounted at theopen end of said socket member serving to confine the sleeve member inthe socket member against the compressive force of the spring, a spindleone end of which is threaded and passes slidably through said plug toengage said internally threaded sleeve member, the other end of thespindle being rigidly attached to a yoke, pin and wheel unit, and amounting plate lying in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof said socket member and attached thereto at the plug end thereof.

6. A spring-biased adjustable wheel assembly adapted for use in asliding panel comprising a socket member, an internally threaded sleevemember slidable therein, a compression coil spring whose diameter issubstantially the same as that of said sleeve member and attached at oneend to said socket member and at the other end to said sleeve memberwhereby to exert force on said sleeve member in an outward axialdirection while preventing it from rotating when the spindle hereinafterset forth is threaded therethrough, a cylindrical plug mounted at theopen end of said socket member serving to confine the sleeve member inthe socket member against the compressive force of the spring, a spindleone end of which is threaded and passes slidably through said plug toengage said internally threaded sleeve member, the other end of thespindle being rigidly attached to a yoke, pin and wheel unit, andmounting flanges attached to the periphery of said socket member andlying in a plane tangential thereto.

7. A sliding panel comprising a plurality of spring-biased adjustablewheel assemblies mounted at one edge of said panel comprising a socketfixedly recessed in said edge of the panel, a spindle having a threadedend co-axially mounted in said socket member, an internally threadedsleeve member confined and slidable in said socket and mounted on thethreaded portion of said spindle, a spring adapted to exert force onsaid sleeve member in an outward axial direction, and a wheel mounted atthe free end of the spindle adapted to engage a trackway, a plurality ofspringless wheel assemblies mounted at the opposite edge of the paneladapted to engage a second trackway, and means secured to said oppositeedge of the panel to raise and lower each of the springless wheelassemblies mounted at said opposite edge whereby the panel may be causedto tilt in a vertical plane.

HYMAN J. KLEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 90,193 Prudhomme et a1. May 18,1869 207,120 Hunt Aug. 20, 1878 657,488 Gulick Sept. 4, 1900 1,356,685Allmand Oct. 26, 1920 1,448,845 Johnson et al. Mar. 20, 1923 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 468,220 Great Britain June 30, 1937

